Ask Real Astrologers: Can Astrology Explain the Mayhem of the Volcano in Iceland?

This week’s question comes from Geraldine in London, England:

Any ideas what is going on astrologically that is causing the volcanic eruption in Iceland that is creating mayhem across the air space in Europe at the moment? Presumably something to do with the cardinal T-square?

Good question, Geraldine! I’ve addressed some of this in my weekly forecast and other posts, but this is a good opportunity to look at some of our assumptions.

First of all, I’m making an assumption that there is an astrological connection. That’s natural, since I’m an astrologer. If I were an Islamic fundamentalist cleric, I’d blame it on loose morals caused by women who wear suggestive clothing in public. If I were a geologist, I’d talk about the formation of magma, pressure build up, plate tectonics, and so forth.

The first point I’d like to make is that astrological aspects don’t cause anything to happen. That would be like saying that electricity causes light. Light is created by directing a current of electrons through a device that converts that energy into light. We are just beginning to discover how to direct astrological energies into consistent and reliable end results, but it’s going to take us another decade or two to figure it out.

In the meantime, these energies are converted into material reality without any intentional, direct intervention from humans, with the possible exception of Deepak Chopra.

Astrology is a symbolic language. We talk about the transformational power of Pluto, the revolutionary energy of Uranus, the structure-building nature of Saturn. If you combine these different energies, you get different end results. A T-square is formed of two squares and an opposition — a very tense combination. By looking at the charts of historical events, we can begin to form some correlations, although, unfortunately, the evidence isn’t consistent enough for us to make reliable predictions.

That said, I’ve looked at a lot of charts for volcanic eruptions, and several of them have either Saturn and Uranus in opposition or a cardinal T-square. Both of these configurations will be active this summer, so I think it’s a pretty safe bet that we’ll have more ash to contend with. I also expect there to be some serious political upheaval.

Explosions, by the way, are a hallmark of Uranus. Whenever there’s a big one, the first thing I look for in the chart is what Uranus was doing. In the chart for the eruption of Eyjafjallajökull on March 20, Saturn and Uranus were approaching opposition (exact on April 26), and there was a tight cardinal T-square with Pluto at 5 degrees Capricorn at the apex and the Sun at 0 degrees Aries opposite Saturn at 1 degree Libra. A second, more violent eruption occurred at the New Moon in Aries on April 14, with Saturn and Uranus in close opposition.

As for the mayhem in airports around the world, we also need to include Mercury retrograde in the picture. Obviously, he didn’t “cause” the problem, and retrograde Mercury typically isn’t a big player in earthquakes and volcanic eruptions — good thing, because he goes retrograde at least three times a year. It would be a real bummer if this happened every time! But it’s well known that travel delays are prevalent during Mercury retrograde periods. Let’s hope all stranded passengers will be safe at home by the time Mercury returns direct on May 11.

Thanks again for writing, Geraldine.

Pat

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